


Five times Edge slipped and the one time Rydia did

by Namixart



Category: Final Fantasy IV
Genre: 5+1 Things, F/M, Fluff, who even is surprised
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 08:51:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15837900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Namixart/pseuds/Namixart
Summary: Edge was born to rule a kingdom. He knew etiquette and he knew what to say and what not to say in any given situation. Or, at least, he was supposed to. As it turned out, his brain-to-mouth filter tended to malfunction every time he was around Rydia of Mist.





	Five times Edge slipped and the one time Rydia did

**1.**

 

The first thing Edge had noticed about Rydia was that she was gorgeous. How could he not? She wasn't the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, but the way she seemed to dance when casting her spells was mesmerizing enough to be a constant threat to his life. No big deal. He could survive beauty

But Rydia was also smart, powerful, stubborn, proud, brave and a hundred more little things that could be summed up in the word 'amazing'. That could prove to be a problem in the long run. She was dangerous in a way that had nothing to do with her magic.

Because Edge was very well aware of the fact that he should not, _could_ not, allow himself to fall in love with her.

" _Born to rule a kingdom_ ," whispered the Seneschal in his mind.

Edge swatted the memory away. As if summoned by his thoughts, Rydia sat next to him, shivering a little when she touched the cold floor of the Tower of Babil.

"Hey," she said with a small smile.

"Hey," he replied.

She wrapped her arms around herself. Edge huffed softly.

"Here," he said, lifting up his cape in invitation.

She eyed him for a second, still a bit wary of his intentions. Then, she shuffled closer and allowed him to drape it over her shoulders.

"Thank you," she sighed.

"Anything for the most beautiful girl in the world."

There you go. Pointless flirting and jokes. The Edge-approved failproof strategy for not getting attached. He would get over this almost-crush soon enough. She huffed and kicked him lightly in the shin.

He laughed softly, then they both fell in comfortable silence.

All of a sudden, they heard Kain shout for them from the hallway next to the one they were in.

"Monsters!"

The two of them shot up and ran as fast as they could towards the source of the noise. Cecil, Rosa and Kain were already fighting a group of three Flamehounds.

Edge felt Rosa's warm magic tingling through his body as the Haste spell got a hold of him. He sent her a mental thanks, then sprang into action, swords unsheathed and Ninjutsu incantations on his tongue.

 

The fight was going fairly well. One Flamehound had gone down and a second one looked almost done as well. But the third was especially aggressive and clever, surrounding itself with fire every time someone got too close and lashing at them with flame whips the moment their guard was down. Cecil and Rydia had been burned several times already, Kain was struggling to breathe in his full body armour and Rosa was falling behind with healing.

The Flamehound tried to hit Edge with its paw, but he managed to dodge it just clumsily enough to trip and fall against a wall. He bit back a curse when the cold metal rubbed against the bad burn on his left arm. He got up again and began to mumble a Mirage spell, but the words died in his throat when he heard Rydia's terrified scream.

Edge blanched. She was scared of fire.

As if the world had slowed down, he turned to see the third Flamehound jump out of a wall of fire directly on top of her, sending her head slamming into the floor.

Cecil stabbed the monster from behind and it disintegrated in a pile of ashes, but Rydia didn't get up.

The rest of the battle went by in a blur for Edge, even though he was the one to slice open the last monster. He didn't even wait to take a deep breath, he just started running towards Rydia as fast as his burning lungs would allow.

Rosa was already next to her, cradling her head in her lap and chanting softly. Edge stopped a few steps away from them and knelt down.

"Is she gonna be okay?" he asked in a low voice.

Rosa nodded without breaking the spell. Edge took a moment to really look at the unconscious girl. She sported bad burns on her arms and legs and the ends of her hair were singed. She had four deep cuts on her right wrist and on her cheek, where the Flamehound had wounded her, but Rosa's magic was already working and the bleeding had stopped.

The White Mage quit singing and took a deep breath.

"We both need to take a break, but she should wake up soon enough. Would you mind carrying her back to camp?" she asked, absentmindedly brushing Rydia's hair away from her face.

"Not at all," answered Edge.

He picked Rydia up like she was made of glass, slowly and carefully. He adjusted her in his arms so her head wouldn't bounce around too much and started walking steadily.

After a few minutes, he felt Rydia stir in his arms. He stopped in his tracks and looked down at her. She slowly opened her eyes, still cloudy with confusion.

"Edge?"

For a second, all his worries and the Seneschal's advice flew out the window, overpowered by sheer relief and affection.

"Don't ever scare me like that again. You're way too amazing to get hurt," he whispered, gazing into her eyes.

She huffed a little and leaned her head back against his chest.

"Do you ever quit? Be serious," she mumbled, but her tone was softer than the one she would normally use.

Edge entertained for a moment the idea to tell her that he wasn't joking, this time, but dismissed it. It wasn't fair to either of them to pretend this wasn't a doomed endeavour.

Kain, in front of them, shot Edge an odd look. Edge shrugged as well as he could with Rydia in his arms.

It was a one-time thing. A slip. He would make sure it wouldn't happen again.

 

* * *

 

**2.**

 

After all that nonsense with the Sealed Cave was over, the group was back in the Dwarven Kingdom to rest and come up with a way to get back on the surface world.

One night, Edge was down in the pub, chatting with the dwarves and drinking a bit which, in retrospect, wasn't his brightest idea.

"Your world very different from this?" one dwarf asked wiping the beer from his moustache.

Edge tried to ignore the pang of nostalgia in his chest.

"Yeah," he murmured, taking another swig, "We have sun and water and plants up there. And lots of different kingdoms that once in a while are at war with each other."

The dwarf nodded.

"Only one kingdom here. And the Tower, but no one ever goes there. But -" here he lowered his voice - "some say somewhere there's an entrance to another realm. I'd sure love to find _that_!" he then barked out a laugh and gulped down another drink.

Edge eyed the action nervously, before putting down his own glass and offering a tentative smile.

"Yeah, another realm... Go figure."

A memory of Leviathan and Asura, Rydia's terrifying stepparents, flashed in his mind.

As if the very thought summoned her, the girl herself entered the pub, her heels clicking on the stone floor.

"Hey, Edge," she waved, sitting down next to him.

He smiled back at her and ran a hand through his hair.

"Who is this lady?" the dwarf asked, as his beard twitched over his smile.

"This is my Rydia, High Summoner of Mist," Edge replied tiredly.

Rydia shot him a wide-eyed look, her cheeks reddening a bit, then she turned back to the dwarf and smiled shyly.

The dwarf hit his chest with his fist once.

"My name is Arild. An honour, lady."

Rydia stayed a while to chat with them, but when Edge caught her yawning for the fifth time, she declared it was getting late and she was going to bed.

Edge waved at her as she walked away, a soft smile on his face.

Arild stroked his beard.

"You and your lady make a very good couple. She's beautiful, I think," he mused.

"She really is," Edge murmured, then turned back to the dwarf with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry, a couple?"

Arild nodded, furrowing his brows.

"You said it."

"Oh, no. No, no, no, we're not a couple," he stammered, waving his hands in front of him.

The dwarf let out a hearty laugh.

"I apologize. I must have misunderstood. You did introduce her as 'your Rydia'."

Edge choked on air.

"I did _what_? Oh, no she's only a very good friend for whom I harbour nothing but platonic and respectful feelings, I was completely out of line, I should apologize to her, that wasn't cool and I didn't realize I said that so, yeah, not a couple," he rambled, his face growing darker by the second.

"Besides," he added in a small voice, "she doesn't see me that way."

Arild stroked his beard again, thoughtfully.

"Really? I wouldn't be so sure."

"Huh?"

Arild shook his head.

"Anyway, it really is late. Thank you for company and for drinks. I hope we'll meet again soon, Eblan Prince," he said, getting up, "Have a good rest."

And with that, he walked out, leaving Edge in a dumbfounded stupor of alcohol and embarrassment.

 

* * *

 

**3.**

 

The moon was cold and dusty. Edge hated it and he was exhausted. When Cecil declared it was time to sleep, he simply dropped down on his knees and rolled out his sleeping bag in the softest spot he could find. After a few seconds, Rydia crawled next to him and flopped face down on the soft fabric.

"Tired, Lady Summoner?" Edge asked with a yawn as Rosa lay down on his other side and Cecil prepared for the first shift.

"You have no idea, your Highness," she mumbled into her pillow.

After that, there weren't many more words exchanged as they all fell asleep quickly.

Edge was woken up by Rydia's shuffling as she got up for her shift, after Rosa's. Still mostly asleep, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back into his chest.

She let out a small whimper and tried to wiggle herself free.

"Edge, come on, I gotta-"

He buried his face into her hair and pressed a kiss into it.

"Don't wanna. Stay a bit more," he mumbled.

"I'll be back before you know it. But now I have to go, Edge, come on," she whispered, the tips of her ears reddening.

Ugh. She was so cute. He told her as much and was delighted to see her flustered reaction. After another minute of quiet squabbling he finally let her go, but not before pressing another small kiss at the corner of her mouth.

"Be safe, 'kay?" he mumbled, before falling back asleep.                         

 

The next morning, Rydia was strangely jumpy and stammer-y around him.

As she escaped the ninth conversation with him by jogging ahead with a blush on her face he groaned loudly and run a hand over his face.

"What is up with her?"

Rosa, beside him, cleared her throat.

"Something wrong?" he asked, turning to her.

"Do you... remember anything from last night?" she said slowly.

Edge looked at her, cocking his head to the side.

"Right." she took a deep breath and told him in a hushed tone about the scene she had witnessed the night before.

The colour slowly drained from Edge's face as Rosa talked, and by the time she said he'd kissed Rydia he was gaping with wide, horrified eyes.

"I need to apologize to her. Right now," he whispered after a few seconds.

Rosa nodded.

"Don't worry, she's not mad. Just embarrassed."

Edge swallowed and nodded. Then he skipped over to where Rydia was walking, clearing his throat. She jumped, startled. He waved a little, suddenly shy.

"So, um. I think I owe you an apology."

Rydia was blushing again and Edge was pretty sure he was as well, but he braced himself and carried on.

"I'm so sorry about last night. Rosa told me what happened, I didn't remember at all. I shouldn't have done that, I'm so, so sorry, Rydia. It's just -" he cut himself off here.

Telling her he'd been dreaming they were together didn't seem like a smart move. Luckily, she held a hand up and giggled softly, cheeks still a bit red.

"It's okay, Edge, don't worry," she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and looking away, "I was just... surprised," she muttered.

Edge smiled hesitantly.

"So... We're okay?" he asked.

She nodded and smiled back.

"We're okay."

 

* * *

 

**4.**

 

Being inside the Giant was certainly a change in scenery, though one that Edge didn't really appreciate. The narrow, straight hallways offered little opportunity for enemy ambushes, but they also limited the group's freedom of movement quite a lot. Plus, what good is a ninja out in the open?

He groaned loudly when they heard the tell-tale clanging sound of one of those big robots approaching. Glancing around, the others seemed to be of a similar mind, with Cecil muttering an uncharacteristic "Oh, come _on!_ " under his breath. The only one to keep his composure was FuSoYa, but Edge didn't really know what to make of him anyway.

When the enemy appeared from behind a corner, Edge saw with relief that it was only one robot. The rest of the team visibly relaxed as well which, in hindsight, wasn't a good idea.

They were sluggish and slow, out of synch like they hadn't been fighting together for the past... however much time had passed, they were better than that.

Edge hoped no one noticed that none of his five - _five_! - shurikens had hit its target but, then again, it had taken Rosa for _ever_ to get some buffs up, so he guessed he wasn't alone in this underperforming thing.

The only one who seemed to be at the top of her game was Rydia. She was at the back of the group, flinging powerful and precise spells that were far more effective than Edge and Cecil’s collective efforts. FuSoYa stood next to her, replenishing her magic and amplifying her spells.

When the robot finally fell down, Edge had to bite back a loud curse, because three more were approaching from behind it. Cecil swore though, so low that Edge nearly missed it. He turned to the paladin with an expression halfway between surprised and amused.

"Sometimes the situation warrants it," Cecil said sagely, shrugging.

Edge shrugged as well, then he gripped his swords tighter with a sigh and prepared to jump.

At that exact second, though, he heard Rydia snap:

"Oh, I've had e _nough_!" she shrieked, stomping her foot on the ground.

As it connected, ice covered the floor of the hallway, avoiding the team but freezing the robots in place before Edge could blink. After that, she made a sharp motion with her arms, as if she was pulling down something from above and slamming it down. In synch with her move, the biggest bolt of lightning Edge had ever seen came crashing down on the robots. They exploded and crumbled to a heap on the floor, the deafening noise echoing in the silent hallway for a few seconds after.

For a moment, the only sound to be heard was Rydia's heavy breathing. Slowly, everyone was looking at her, wide-eyed and silent.

Edge was the first to speak up, in a shaky voice he almost didn't recognize.

"You... You just cast two spells _that_ powerful without a word," he stammered as his swords clattered to the ground, resounding loudly and making him wince.

Rydia was startled out of her trance by his voice. She glanced down at her trembling hands, eyes wide and mouth slightly open in surprise. Then, she slowly looked up and locked her gaze with Edge's, her lips hesitantly stretching in an incredulous smile.

"I... I did!" she breathed, clasping her hands together.

She still didn't break the eye contact, even as FuSoYa started talking, perhaps explaining what had just happened.

"Please marry me."

Edge regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, unbridled and unchecked. Rydia's smile fell a little, but she didn't look angry or upset, just surprised. She bit her lip and hugged herself, averting her eyes.

The others seemed to disappear from the room, even though logically Edge knew they had to still be there.

He opened his mouth to take back his stupid proposal, but she beat him to it.

"Should we move on?" she mumbled.

_Maybe it's best for the both of us if we ignore this._

Edge nodded. Cecil, possibly reappearing out of thin air, cleared his throat.

"Yeah, let's go."

They all gathered their wits as well as they could and started to march forward again in silence. Edge deemed it safe to give Rydia a little bit of space, so he hung back with Rosa while she walked ahead with Cecil and FuSoYa.

When Rydia started a conversation with the Lunarian about her sudden power outburst, Edge sighed in relief. Rosa, next to him, chuckled.

"You may want to watch your mouth around her," she said in a low, joking voice.

He stuck his tongue out at her - by the way, when had the two of them become such close friends? - and then sighed again.

"I was born and raised to rule a country. I should be able to control what I say. Why can't my filters work around her?" he grumbled.

Rosa pretended to be deep in thought for a few moments.

"Hmm. I might have some ideas," she said with a smile.

Edge laughed.

"Keep them. I've had my share of embarrassment for the day."

 

* * *

 

**5.**

 

The moon again. Of course they had to go to the moon again. Edge hated the moon.

They'd been trekking through winding tunnels all day and they'd found a spot that Cecil had deemed safe enough to rest for a few hours - _night_? Never heard of her.

He knew he was only allowed a few minutes of relax before he would be sent to scout ahead, and he spent that time chatting with Rydia. After the awkwardness that followed his slip in the Giant had been put aside - not forgotten, just put in the "maybe we should ignore this like we usually do these days" jar - they'd returned to their usual levels of friendliness.

"So, the Seneschal sent out a whole squadron of our best guards to find me and the whole time I was just chilling out in the kitchens," he recalled, flailing his arms around.

Rydia raised an eyebrow.

"All that fuss just because you skipped your lesson?" she asked.

Edge shrugged.

"Well, maybe it wasn't a squadron that he sent after me," he conceded, "Maybe it was just my cousin and maybe she found me immediately because she knows me too well. But yeah, all that fuss because I skipped my lesson. My mom wasn't very happy."

Talking about his parents was still hard, but the way Rydia laughed after his story made the pain in his chest ease a little.

"You're such a show off!" she chuckled, punching him lightly in the arm.

Edge put a hand over his heart.

"You wound me, Lady Rydia. I speak nothing but the truth," he declared, his finger in the air.

She chuckled again and shuffled closer to him.

"Tell me another story," she said with a smile.

"Have I ever told you about the time I set the throne room curtains on fire during a _very_ important meeting?"

Rydia shook her head and he opened his mouth to speak when he heard someone clear their throat.

"Sorry to interrupt," said Cecil, looking genuinely apologetic, "but we need to secure this spot. Edge, could you...?"

"Sure." Edge stretched.

"Well, gotta go." he leaned over and placed a small kiss on Rydia's cheek before getting up, "I love you, stay safe."

He paused for a moment.

"Uh, er... I'm gonna go now. Yeah," he stammered, turning away sharply and nearly running out of the small cave.

Then, he leaned against a wall, running his hands over his face and groaning, hoping against all odds that she hadn't heard that. Or noticed that he'd kissed her - _again_! - even though he was pretty sure she had leaned into the touch just for a second.

He swore under his breath.

That had to stop.

 

* * *

 

**+1.**

 

Zemus was just beyond the door. Beyond the door Golbez and FuSoYa were already fighting. Beyond that door they could very well die. _Anyone_ of them could die.

Rydia glanced over to Edge. He looked like he'd just averted his own gaze from her.

The words were burning on the tip of her tongue. She could say them now, lean over, close the distance and say them.

But... She didn't want to cause him any more pain if he lived and she didn't.

 _After_ , she thought, then she took a deep breath, and opened the door.

 

When Zemus dropped dead at FuSoYa's feet, a small part of Rydia knew it had been too easy. Edge, in front of her, skipped over to the two mages, already celebrating.

Rydia huffed fondly and caught up with them. She tapped lightly on his shoulder, ignoring the alarm bells in her head.

"Edge, I -" she took a deep breath as Golbez attempted to talk to his brother, a few steps away - "I need to -"

A loud rumbling noise interrupted her. Zemus's corpse was floating in the air and it was being engulfed by dark smoke.

"I need to tell you something," she whispered to Edge, as they both stared horrified at 'Zeromus'.

"Yeah, me too," he replied sombrely, unsheathing his swords, "let's make sure we both live through this. I'd hate to leave either of us hanging."

Rydia nodded, electricity already crackling through her body and eyes set on the creature before them.

 

Kain delivered the final blow. Rydia didn't watch Zeromus's empty shell collapse to the ground and she didn't see Cecil and Rosa sharing a long, relieved embrace in the silence that came after.

She ran towards the heap of rubble on the far end of the hall, the scene still playing in the back of her eyelids every time she blinked.

Zeromus's spell had hit Edge square in the chest and sent him flying into a wall. As soon as he'd landed on the ground, another stray spell had hit the wall and buried him under a pile of rocks. Edge still hadn't gotten up.

Rydia knelt down beside the heap and started prying rocks away from it, frantically calling his name. The others were soon next to her, much needed helping hands.

"You'd better not be dead," she whispered, tears starting to well up in her eyes, "There are so many people who need you. _I_ need you, please, be okay."

Her hands were getting numb, the many cuts she had didn't even hurt anymore. The only thing that mattered was getting to Edge.

It felt like an eternity had passed, but finally they managed to dig deep enough to see him, laying face down in the dirt, unconscious. There was a small puddle of blood around his head, but when Rydia reached with shaky hands for his neck, she found a pulse under her fingers, still strong, as if he was saying: "Don't worry, you're not getting rid of me so easily."

Working carefully, so as not to injure him further, Cecil and Kain managed to get Edge out of the rubble and to lay him down. Rosa was soon by his side, her face focused as she began her spells. While she chanted, Rydia padded over to them and gingerly took one of Edge's hands between hers.

She watched intently Edge's face, softly stroking his hand with her thumb.

After a while, Rosa sighed and ran a hand affectionately through Edge's hair.

"He should wake up soon. Please, go easy on him, he had a few broken ribs and a broken arm. A concussion too, so don't get him up too quickly," she said, walking over to Cecil and Kain.

Rydia nodded dumbly, but then she felt Edge's fingers twitch in her hand.

"Edge?" she whispered, turning back to look at him.

He opened slightly his eyes, then squeezed them shut again.

"Too bright," he mumbled.

Rydia chuckled, tears finally spilling from her eyes.

"It's okay, take your time. We won." the words tasted foreign on her tongue, but she savoured them nonetheless.

"We won?" now he properly opened his eyes and locked his gaze on hers.

She nodded, smiling.

He closed his eyes again and sighed, draping a hand over his face.

"Thank the Crystals."

"Do you think you can sit up?" Rydia asked, still holding his hand.

"I can give you a maybe on that. Let's try."

It was slow and careful, but they managed to get him in a sitting position.

Rydia allowed herself the first deep breath in what felt like forever, threw her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in the crook of his neck. He gingerly put his arms around her waist, stroking gentle circles on her lower back.

"You almost died," she murmured on his skin.

He squeezed her a bit more.

"Did I scare you?" he asked softly, and she nodded "I'm sorry, Rydia."

 _Crystals_ , she loved the way her name sounded in his voice.

"It's okay. You're okay."

They stayed like that for a few seconds more, then Rydia pulled away and took a good look at him.

Edge looked still a bit dazed and he was a mess. He was covered in dirt and blood, his hair and clothes were in complete disarray and his precious mask was missing. Rydia thought that it was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen.

She'd almost lost him. This brave, funny, clever, ridiculous, wonderful man was almost gone forever. She swallowed the knot in her throat.

"Please tell me the offer to marry you still stands."

Edge's eyes widened. She slapped a hand over her mouth and they both stared at each other for a moment.

Then, slowly, Edge's face broke into a big, toothy grin. Rydia cursed his stupid mask and the smiles she'd missed because of it. She covered her burning face with her hands and he laughed out loud.

"My, how the tables have turned, Lady Rydia," he chuckled.

She peeked at him through her fingers and glared a little.

"Give me a break, I'm only human," she mumbled.

Edge laughed again, then he gently pried Rydia's hands away from her face and held them, absentmindedly stroking them with his thumbs.

"To answer your question, yeah, of course it does," he said in a low voice.

Rydia smiled a little, manoeuvring her hands to properly entwine their fingers.

"Okay, then," she whispered.

Edge huffed, leaning away a little.

"Please let me propose again after everything settles down. That was the most unromantic way it could have happened," he laughed.

"Yeah, well, try to not almost die before I can say yes," chuckled Rydia.

"You'll just have to never let me leave your sight, then," he winked, leaning towards her again.

"Well, that's why I need to marry you. So I can keep an eye on you for the rest of our lives," she giggled.

They stayed silent for a moment, just savouring the quiet and each other's company. Then, Rydia broke the silence.

"What now?"

"Well, now we get up and get to the others. Then we go back to the Blue Planet and we sort the world out. And in the end, hopefully, I get to spend the rest of my life with you," Edge said with a smile.

She hummed thoughtfully.

"Sounds good. Shall we?" she said, standing up and holding out a hand for him.

He smiled and took it.

**Author's Note:**

> Short 'n sweet, as per usual. I love these two idiots. Lemme know what you think!


End file.
